Thank God For Beautiful Weather.

Here’s to new starts and the celebration of Spring!  With that, I give you the Verse of the Day:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”- 1 John 1:9

This verse truly amazes me.  I can’t believe what a gracious God we serve.  No matter how many times I screw up, he is forgiving if I come to Him with a remorseful heart.  We can be “pure as snow” with just one confession to Him of our sins, because of His sacrifice on the cross.

Last night was totally EPIC.  When I got home from work, I fueled up with some carbs (a sweet potato & a Flat Out Light wrap with Sonoma Jack’s & Splenda) right before heading outside into the gorgeous sunshine that the Lord provided us with yesterday, for a 5 mile run.

I brought my camera so that I could bring you all with me on the journey.   I wanted to try out the “running photography”, Yes Man style

Incase you can’t tell, I live in quite the rural area, to say the least.

But it makes for some stunning photographs, no? Check out how GREEN the grass is!

The easiest part of the run is down this huge hill!

The creek.

 This one is probably my FAVORITE picture, because I can see my shadow in the cement wall of the bridge! I was showing my Mom these photos and she said I looked like a dragon. Haha.

The hardest part of the run.

This sucker was long, slow and gradual.  I was so glad to get to the top!  Not to mention, it’s toward the very end of the 5 miles, so it kicks my butt everytime!

Okay, so I lied.  THIS is my favorite picture   And with that, I concluded my run.  When I reached my driveway, I moved my car so I could play a little basketball.  It was boring by myself, so I went inside to do some ab work before my sister and Mom got home from softball practice.  My Dad had ordered us Chinese.

Steamed shrimp and vegetables.

I got my usual, and when the rest of the family got home, we sat down to eat dinner together.

As you can see, I hated it:

After dinner, I went outside with my little sister and played some basketball!  Taking advantage of the fact that it was STILL light out at 7PM   I whooped her butt in “one bounce“.

We came back inside, I showered and relaxed the rest of the night.  I packed my lunch and then made us dessert! 

Lunch spread.

For lunch today, I packed a big tub of veggies (cucumber, carrots, & yellow pepper slices), some deli turkey that I abs. love, and a Light Flat Out with Sonoma Jacks to eat at my desk.

The star of lunch?

Columbus Herb Turkey Breast!

Review to come soon, so stay tuned!

I made Morgy a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake milkshake, and myself a Mint Chocolate Chip protein shake with some Optimum Nutrition protein powder!  I can’t wait to review the other flavors Tim sent me too!

Not very photogenic, but deeeelish.

Greek yogurt fans, be sure to check out Julie’s giveaway!

Happy Thursday, bloggies!

OH! And before I forget to mention this!  HUGE congrats to my girl, Lyndsie!  She applied for an internship in Uganda, Africa and just found out a few days ago that she GOT IT!!! WAY TO GO, BABE!

One Sick Puppy…

Verse of the Day:

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”

- 1 Peter 3:15

I love this verse!  I feel like so many times, God gives us opportunities to be an example to others, but then when they confront us about our faith and where our love for Him comes from, we’re not ready with an answer.  I think it’s discouraging and frustrating when I miss a perfect chance to be a testimony to someone because my focus is not where it should be.  At the same time, I love that it tells us to “give your reason with gentleness and respect“.  I think it’s also a turn off to non-believers when faith is shoved down their throats.  I feel like the best way to show someone Christ is by example as opposed to handing out those impersonal “tracks” to strangers.  Not that I feel that those types of methods are WRONG, but not nearly as effective in my opinion.  What are your thoughts?

Anyway, I’m sorry for the lack of meal postings lately.  I’ve been sick for the past few days.  It’s just like a massive head cold.  Coughing, congestion, sneezing…you know…all the good stuff.  Monday I actually felt deaf in my right ear.  Fun times.  I’ve basically been eating sporadically throughout the day and not actual meals (other than breakfast). 

Lately, lunches have been comprised of random raw veggies such as sugar snap peas, bell peppers (yellow & orange), broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms.  Today for my vegetable, I packed a spinach salad with mushrooms, peppers, snap peas, and carrots.  For my protein at lunch,  I’ve been packing slices of deli turkey to add to my veggies. 

[source]

Yess, that’s right.  Processed oven roasted turkey in all its glory.

Each protein & veggie lunch needs a carb to keep it company, right? Yes, I think so.  I’ve been packing Flat Out Light wraps & a Sonoma Jack’s Pepperjack cheese wedge that I mix with a packet of Splenda at lunch to create a yummy sweet cream cheese filling for my wrap.

[source]

Upon arrival home from work, I always have some kind of fruit.  Whether its an apple, peach, banana, or berries.  I ALWAYS have one before I change and jump on the bike. 

Last night after biking off about 300 calories, I made myself a snack of some Natural Banana Peanut Butter from Sunland Inc. with some baby carrots for dipping.

[source]

Oh.my.heavens. is this stuff awesome.  I can’t sing this company’s praises enough.  Seriously.  Just wait until the review   Being that I’m sick, it takes a lot of flavor for me to be able to taste ANYTHING, but this stuff made me MMMMMM out loud. 

Post snackage, I got back on the bike to finish watching my online episodes of “What I Like About You”.

[source]

Such a cute show!  Amanda Bynes cracks me up on this show.  After biking, I had some more dinner from a can.

[source]

What better comfort food than chicken noodle soup when you’re sick?  It was perfect.  Yes, I ate the whole can for just 200 calories!  I actually amped it up with a 100 calorie package of broccoli slaw too.  Gotta get that veggie power for the vitamins & minerals to help me recooperate  

For dessert, I had some diet green tea with frozen raspberries, strawberries, & blueberries added from my freezer stash.  It was quite a yummy concoction if I do say so myself   The ginseng is supposed to have “healing power” so I thought maybe it would help with my cold.

And with that, I ended my night watching the Biggest Loser.

Hope you have a great hump day!

Oh yeaH!  And don’t forget to check out IGE for TWO awesome giveaways!  I’m dying to win the TOFU PRESS!